


I Know What Boys Like

by goddess_julie



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 14:17:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2550608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goddess_julie/pseuds/goddess_julie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the morning after a Halloween party and Louis can't remember anything.   Especially not making out with everyone but the one he'd really wanted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Know What Boys Like

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not officially doing Mini NaNoWriMo but I still am trying to do a fic a day. So this would be fic 1. We'll see how long it lasts and if I can manage to do one per day in November.
> 
> Don't know where the idea came from. I started with an idea of a day after Halloween and went from there. I had a lot of fun with this one, the characterizations and just how it came out. Hope you like it!

Louis needs to find new friends. The ones he currently has are evil demons put on earth to torture him. He’s sure of it. Fighting off the mountain of blankets he is currently hiding under, Louis feels the first breath of fresh, cool air against his face. He inhales deeply and smells bacon and coffee. Well, maybe they’re not the worst friends in the world. Niall’s cackle echoes in the flat and bounces off his head, amplifying his headache and he amends his position on his friends once again.

By the time he emerges from the room, he is shocked to see his and Niall’s small table packed with people, most of which he doesn’t recognize. He glares at the blonde who is grinning widely at him, as if he knows something Louis doesn’t. Louis doesn’t want to think about it so he flips his best friend off and heads for the teapot.

“Who are you lot?” Louis asks as he pushes Niall over to share his seat. His gaze moves from person to person, cataloguing their faces and trying to remember if he’d met them the night before. The first is a stunningly gorgeous lad with rough stubble and dark hair. His eyes are warm but captivating and Louis raises his eyebrows in appreciation before he moves to the next. There sits a girl with blonde hair and purple streaks, locks pulled into a messy pony tail as she chews quietly on a piece of toast and gives him a knowing smirk at his blatant checking out of the lad beside her. 

Moving on his eyes land on someone who has Louis’ whole body on edge. He has long curly hair, bangs swept back into a small pony tail to keep out of his eyes. He has breathtakingly green eyes which are looking back at him shyly as a pink hue creeps up his throat to his cheeks. This man is wearing jeans with a button down shirt which is unbuttoned, showing off a multitude of tattoos on his chest. Louis has to wipe his mouth with a napkin to make sure he’s not drooling at the table.

“See Harry,” Niall says with too much a smirk for Louis’ liking. “Told you it wasn’t the alcohol talking.”

Louis is shocked to see Harry’s blush deepen as he averts his eyes and coughs into his coffee cup. The two sitting beside Harry start to laugh. 

The bathroom door opens, interrupting Louis’ fantasies of where else Harry blushes so prettily and as he turns his head he nearly chokes on his toast. A stranger who has muscles on muscles, a shaved head and has a towel slung low on his tiny waist comes out of the bathroom, followed by a cloud of steam.

“What the fuck did I miss last night?” Louis squawks to everyone’s amusement. “And who the fuck are you lot?”

Niall’s cackle is pure evil, Louis is definitely sure of that.

“Tommo, this is Liam. Remember? I told you he was coming to the Halloween party last night, and that he was bringing a few of his mates?”

Louis wracked his brain to the night before. It was hazy due to the excessive amount of alcohol he’d drank, damn Stan and Eleanor and their deliciously fruity cocktails, but he definitely didn’t remember meeting any of these people.

“No, I didn’t meet any of you. I’m sure of it.” Louis is certain. Judging from the smiles on their faces, his memory might have holes in it.

“Mate, you tried to climb Zayn,” Harry says with a snort. Louis looks around like he doesn’t know which one Harry is talking about, mostly because he doesn’t. He sees the gorgeous, scruffy one raise a hand and Louis gives him a filthy smile.

“Hey, I bet I did.” The girl beside Zayn snorts at his statement.

“He was wearing a batman costume,” she says poking Zayn’s side teasingly.

Louis thought back and remembered that. Possibly. He remembered black leather and as an image flashed before his eyes he gave Zayn another once over, lips curling into a sexy smirk. “How did that work out for me?”

Harry’s snort of laughter interrupted Louis’ attempt at seduction and he turned to where the other boy sat, rolling his eyes. “You landed on your arse.” As Louis raised an eyebrow in question, Harry shook his head. “You grabbed Zayn’s dick, he screamed like a girl and dropped you on your arse.”

At Niall’s snort of laughter Louis vowed that right after breakfast he was going to find new friends. He could do it, he was friendly and popular. It wouldn’t be a problem at all. Looking at his hands, Louis noticed they were tinged with green. He held it up questioningly. 

“What’s this from?”

This time Liam blushed and ducked his head, running his hand on the back of his neck nervously as he held his free hand in the air. “That would be from me.”

Louis concentrated as hard as he could. He shook his head as he came up with nothing. “Joker? Ring a bell?”

“Why so serious…” Louis mumbled under his breath. A blush covered his cheeks and he offered Niall an embarrassed and apologetic smile. “Oh fuck.” Maybe he wasn’t the only one with a shit best friend at the moment. “Please don’t tell me I said…”

“Stop,” Niall’s voice was loud enough to startle Louis. The tea in his cup splashed over the rim and he hissed as he set it down to dry off his hand.

“So I did.”

“Twice,” Liam confirmed. “Just in case I didn’t understand the first time.”

“And did you?”

“We all did, Lou. You were very descriptive.”

“It was impressive actually,” Perrie added with a smirk. She stood up and brought her dishes to the sink, rinsing them before loading the dishwasher. Louis watched her do the same with Zayn’s, kissing him on the jaw like it was instinct. Like she did it all the time. His whispered ‘thanks babe,’ when she returned only strengthened Louis’ resolve to find new friends. If not just so he wouldn’t have to face Liam and Niall’s friends again and relive this embarrassment every single time they got together.

“Well, now that we know I’m a total slag when I’ve had a few drinks,” Louis stood up quickly, avoiding everyone’s curious gazes. He focused on the calendar above the sink, trying not to die from total and utter embarrassment. “I’m going to go and take a shower, see if I can’t drown myself in our tub. If that doesn’t work, I think I might just go, buy a train ticket and fuck off to Siberia or something where no one knows me.”

Under the hot spray of the shower, Louis tried to clear his mind of everything and anything. He’d done worse and hadn’t let it bother him before. It wasn’t often that he got embarrassed about the things he’d gotten up to while drinking, but last night felt like he’d missed something monumental. He couldn’t figure out why he would have gotten so drunk as to hit on anyone when Harry was even a distinct possibility. Yes Zayn was beautiful and Liam was fit as fuck, but he’d lost his breath when he’d first seen Harry sitting at the table, and Louis knew that it couldn’t have been that different the night before. Especially knowing Liam and Niall’s history and how happy his best friend was that Liam was transferring to the London offices of his job so he and Niall could give their relationship a real go.

Finding Niall sitting on his bed as he snuck into his bedroom after his shower was a surprise. Louis managed a weak smile as he dressed, purposefully avoiding Niall’s gaze. Finally, the silence became too awkward, too much to bear and Niall broke it.

“Don’t be a cunt about this,” he said lightly. Louis choked, reacting as though he’d been slapped.

“Fuck. I’m sorry. I just … I don’t know what got into me last night. You know I’d never …”

Niall held up his hand to stop him from talking. Louis shut his mouth instantly. He watched in surprise as Niall looked at him in amusement as opposed to the anger he was expecting.

“Do you know what you said to Liam before you practically dry humped him on the couch?” Niall asked. He leaned back onto his elbows where he sat on Louis’ bed, a picture of relaxation. Louis’ mouth opened and closed a few times, Niall chuckled gleefully at his discomfort. “You said, hey mate. I’ve never met you but every time I talk to that bloke over there I sound like a twat. Make out with me so I can make him jealous.”

Louis’ eyes widen in surprise as his legs give out and he sits on the floor at the end of his bed.

“Zayn?” Louis croaks.

“No, he came next.” Niall laughed. “You were pointing to Harry. Harry, who fucking came to the party last night in a kitten costume. He had a painted on nose, whiskers and a furry grey costume with ears and a tail. You told Liam he was the cutest fucking thing you’d ever seen and wanted to wreck him but were too afraid to scare him away. “

Louis’ ego was definitely taking a beating that morning, and Niall was enjoying it far too much. He groaned, covering his face with his hands.

“You loudly bragged about how good you are in bed and then proceeded to try and snog Liam’s face off. When that didn’t work, you made your way to Zayn. That was actually really funny. Perrie was goading you on, telling you to go for it and Zayn had no clue what was going on until you grabbed his dick.”

“I knew I should have drowned myself in the shower,” Louis moaned from his place on the floor. “S’not too late to move and change my name.”

“I think it would make it pretty hard for Harry to find you if you did that, mate.” Niall said from his place on the bed. Louis cracked open an eye to see if Niall was taking the piss. It didn’t look like it as his best friend was serious for once that morning. “I can’t believe you don’t remember any of it.”

“Maybe it’s better that way. Maybe…”

“Once you fell off Zayn’s dick and nearly bust your ass on the floor, Harry came running over to see if you were okay. You said no, that he’d broken your heart and Zayn had broken your ass so there was no point in going on anymore. Begged us to put you out of your misery and wailed how life isn’t fair. You’re a right bitch when you’re in a mopey drunk mood, Lou. It’s not pretty.”

“You’re enjoying this too much Nialler,” Louis pouted. A soft knock sounded on the door and Louis scrambled to the far side of the bed, hiding from whoever was on the other side.

“You’re a twat Lou,” Niall laughed. “Come in!” 

Harry’s face peeked in, looking uncomfortable and unsure of himself. “I just came to get my things, wallet, watch and such. Took them off before I fell asleep.”

In awe, Louis watched as Harry quickly crossed the room to the side of the bed that Louis never slept on. There, on the nightstand, he saw Harry pick up his watch, put on a few rings, a necklace and put his wallet in his back pocket. Harry looked up and gave a sheepish shrug.

“Forgot to grab it when I went out for breakfast.”

“You slept in here?” Louis squeaked, forgetting his plan of invisibility. His stomach fluttered at Harry’s responding blush.

“Y..yeah. You said I could.”

“Said you wouldn’t ever sleep again if he didn’t,” Niall teased as he stood up. He looked from Harry to Louis and gave him a warning with his eyes. Louis ducked behind the bed until Niall had left, when he finally stood up.

“Did I?” Louis asked, loving Harry’s smile.

“Kind of. I mean, you were drunk. You were saying a lot of things.”

“Did I say you’re beautiful?” Louis’ voice was soft, his hands shaking. “Because if I didn’t, I should have.”

Harry paused from his position at the door, turning around to face Louis. “I saw a picture of you. Niall sent a picture of you both about six months ago. Liam has it up in his room, when I’d visit him up in Wolverhampton I’d see it. Every time. And think, ‘who is this gorgeous lad?” Harry nervously played with a curl, tucking it behind his ear. “And then when he said he was moving here, and was going to be coming to yours and Niall’s Halloween party, I had to come. Had to meet you.”

Louis watches as Harry crosses the room to sit on the bed, next to him.

“Do you remember the first thing you said when we met last night?”

Unfortunately Louis doesn’t. He shakes his head with a frown.

“You walked right up to me and said ‘fuck me, you’re beautiful.” And then you walked away. And each time you walked up to me, you would squeak and run away. You hit on Liam, you climbed Zayn and I thought that you were this massive twat that I’d built up in my head far too much. But when I came over and you said I’d broken your heart… You looked so sad, so lost. When Niall helped bring you in here you asked me to stay. And the last thing you said before you passed out was that I’m beautiful and it’s sad because you’re not allowed beautiful things. They never stay.”

Louis curls in on himself. He’s been more honest with Harry than he has been with anyone else in his entire life. Ever. It’s terrifying.

“That’s why I stayed.” Harry takes a deep, cleansing breath and Louis feels his chest expanding. He reaches over to take Harry’s hand, pleased as the other man links their fingers together. “Niall said to be careful with you. That you’re much more fragile than you let people believe.”

The snort is out before Louis can stop himself. He hates how true it is, how pathetic that makes him sound. 

Harry leans in. He cups Louis’ jaw in his hand, tilting his face so that if they push forward just a few inches, they’ll be kissing. 

“I want to take care of you. I want you to take care of me,” Harry confesses. “I want to know every side of you.”

Louis’ answer is him leaning forward to capture Harry’s mouth in a soft, thorough kiss. He nibbles gently on his plush lower lip and sighs as Harry kisses him back. They’re breathless when they break. Louis hasn’t felt this overwhelmed by another person in a long time. He’s not even sure if he ever has. He’s terrified

“I’m a lot of work,” Louis admits honestly. “Like, a lot of work.”

“I’m okay with that. Anything worth having is.”

“You’re going to have to take me out proper. Real date with dinner and a movie. Maybe dessert.”

Harry’s smile rocks Louis to his core. “That’s okay, I hear that you do this thing? With your tongue? Makes it all worth it!”

Louis can’t help the bark of laughter that escapes his mouth. He pulls Harry down so that they’re lying together on his bed, at an awkward angle but touching from nose to toes. Once their kisses move from heated to lazy, he pulls away and grins down at this gorgeous lad who has turned his whole world upside down. 

“I wasn’t exaggerating,” he promises. He isn’t expecting the sour look on Harry’s face.

“I heard. Some bloke named Nick? Vouched for you. Liam had to stop me from throwing him onto the street.”

Louis was giggling so hard, Harry couldn’t help but join him. When their giggles finally subsided, Louis turned so that he could look directly into Harry’s eyes, their green depths pulling him in. He stroked his face gently as he leaned in to press their mouths together. “So yeah?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah, I think so.” 

Louis couldn’t stop the wide grin that covered his face. His stomach fluttered as Harry returned the smile, his dimple so deep Louis wanted to lick it and see how far his tongue would go. They shared a few more kisses. For the first time in as long as he could remember, Louis felt content. He felt like he was where he was meant to be.


End file.
